The Rockport Music Youth Spotlight concert is a celebration of our youth instructional programs featuring the Cape Ann Youth Chorus, members of the Cape Ann Jazz Workshop Messengers, and original songs from Writing our Musical History. Each program offers a unique opportunity for young musicians in our community: an after-school youth chorus that meets throughout the school year, advanced musicians from our long-running summer jazz workshop who are building professional gigging experience while developing leadership skills, and an in-school residency program focused on cultivating students’ creative voices through original songs.
PROGRAM DIRECTORS
Cape Ann Youth Chorus: Kristina Martin & Thom Smoker
Cape Ann Jazz Workshop: Alexa Tarantino
Writing Our Musical History Teaching Artists: Alexandra Grace & Jaden Chris
ABOUT THE PROGRAMS
This season, the Cape Ann Youth Chorus has been celebrating the power of community among people and with the creatures of our natural world. Their pieces on the program run the gamut from classical to pop, folk to French cabaret.
Representing the Cape Ann Jazz Messengers is a small combo of sax, guitar, piano, and drums out of the larger group. In addition to playing a few jazz standards on their own–“Have you met Miss Jones”, “Recorda-Me”, and “Oleo” or “Blues for Alice” (TBD soon)–they’ll be supporting the youth chorus as additional musicians on several pieces.
Writing our Musical History is a unique program created by Rockport Music that empowers students to write, compose, perform, and record their own original music about their hometown. This performance will showcase two songs created during this school year’s residency at Gloucester High School as well as a song from last year’s residency at Rockport Schools which will bring back an alumnus from Rockport to share the song they created last year.
